ST. JOHNSBURY - The Third annual St. Johnsbury World Maple Festival took place on Saturday.

The temperatures were unusually cold for the festival, but that did not stop residents from coming out to enjoy the activities.

Glen Jardine of Red Sox Nation said, "Yeah, it's chilly, but we're used to it."

That chill combined with the wind didn't slow down Kingdom Kernels from making their maple kettle corn. Lauren Van Der Eems demonstrated how to make maple kettle corn, starting first with pure Vermont Maple Syrup. "It usually takes about seven to eight minutes to cook the syrup down to the point the corn can start popping."Once the maple syrup is ready, she adds sugar and the rest of the ingredients, and then continuously stirs the kernels so they don't burn.

Van Der Eems said popping the kernels is not an easy or a safe task. "And here it goes, the most dangerous part of popping kettle corn, is the oil", said Van Der Eems. The danger though, is worth it for those who love maple popcorn. "The popcorn, it's always a hit, and always one of our favorites", said Lauren Smith of St. Johnsbury.

Just down the road from Kingdom Kernels was Glen Jardine, who was running the Home Base Program that was working with Red Sox Nation. "It's a charity that helps support troops coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan, with traumatic brain injury and combat stress disorder."The raffle prizes included Red Sox Tickets and several other items.

The most important part of the day though, was the crowning of the syrup champion.

The 2011 "Best of Show" went to Sugar Ridge Farms for their medium syrup.